The Differences Between Shamanic Realignment and the Telestic Method

The other day, in a chat with a Swedish kalika, we touched upon the differences between the Telestic Method and Shamanic Realignment, and I thought it might be useful to cover this here.

The Telestic Method

The Telestic Method is also known as telestic shamanism, telestic inquiry or simply, Instruction by the Light. It is the method of the ancient Mystery Schools of Eleusis and The Levant, as recovered by the Gnostic scholar and shaman, John Lash. In this method, participants agree a theme, question or command to take to the Light, ingest a brew of psychoactive plants (psilocybe today) and address the Light while standing in a state of cognitive ecstasy – this is a full mind-body trance learning experience. It can take weeks to unpack the intel received in such as session.

Back then, participants (always invitees) would have had many years to prepare for the session and they would have been in the company of adepts, who were used to working together and were highly knowledgable in various fields of arts and sciences. They would also have been part of an established community, with servants to take care of the preparations and to ensure that everyone was as comfortable as possible. And they would have had plenty of time to debrief and rest after the session.

Today, we have neither time nor infrastructure in our favour; potential participants come together with minimal preparation, barely able to carve a few days out of their hectic lives and often with unrealistic expectations. Notwithstanding the challenges, the method has been proven. I have witnessed the Organic Light on many occasions, including several times in a group with John Lash and others, many of whom also witnessed the OL. These sessions have been extraordinary, overwhelmingly beautiful, intense and life-changing, but I have no appetite for more at this point in time. Why is that?

My response to the intense pressure of these times is to prioritize my energy and attention on what is actionable and what gives me the most pleasure. I feel the need to be as efficient as I can be in whatever I do and I also seek a balance between immediate, medium and long-term pleasure. (Pleasure gives you immunity, after all.) That said, it feels somewhat self-indulgent to go to the Light for instruction on a matter that I’m not in any position to act upon, just for the immediate pleasure of satisfying my intellectual curiosity. Plus, it’s evident that many potential participants are not healthy enough to witness the OL, at first attempt anyway. Encountering the Goddess can never be guaranteed in any circumstances and expectations add another level of challenge. Many neophytes will have something of a ‘healing experience’ regardless, as the ‘allies’ will draw their attention to what needs to be corrected, but it is impossible to give the necessary support to anyone having such an experience in a mixed and largely unfamiliar group. All things considered, I prefer to focus on something actionable and have something to show for my efforts. In the longer term that would give me more satisfaction and pleasure too.

There is one notable exception: should the necessity arise, with the right participants present, it would give me the greatest pleasure to participate in a telestic inquiry for the purpose of identifying a target for a ritual act of contra-violence.

Background to Shamanic Realignment

Shamanic Realignment is a method I’ve been developing over the past couple of years, that draws on my previous work as a healer and therapist and brings it into line with what I’m learning through Planetary Tantra, Gaian Alchemy and the lifestyle of a new-Euro aboriginal. I’m going to give a little personal background here, so you can see what has brought me to this point.

In 2003, I had an inexplicable psychic experience, in which a friend-of-a-friend, within moments of him dying in a car crash in South Africa, contacted me and gave me a message. The experience was so intense that it destroyed the foundation of the world I knew and resulted in me abandoning my career. At that time I held a senior position in a multi-national publishing corporation, with all the trimmings and I enjoyed the high-life, but the diamond-sharp intensity of that psychic experience turned it all to dust and I had to move on. I realized that I knew nothing about the real world and I was consumed by the desire to learn. Barely into my explorations, in 2005, I had a near death experience. I consider that to be my shamanic initiation and along with it came what are quaintly referred to as ‘healing abilities’. In my efforts to understand these ‘abilities’ I took a masters degree in Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology and qualified as a kinesiologist. I practised as a therapist until we left England in 2012. I’ve witnessed hundreds of healings that are not explicable within the current paradigm of medical science: slipped discs moving back into place, tumours disappearing, scars disappearing, wounds healing, abscesses disappearing, spines straightening, arthritic limbs straightening, pain diminishing and many people coming off medications – all within minutes or a few weeks. By chance, I started work in Spain within two weeks of moving here, and experienced the same results. I was never foolish enough to think that I was causing these healings, and it didn’t work for everyone, but it was clear that I was deeply involved in the process in some way and I really needed to understand how what was going on.

I ‘discovered’ the Sophianic Narrative in the summer of 2013 and first met John Lash in the autumn of 2014. At that point I took a break from the healing work, primarily as the result of asking myself one simple question: what is going to do more good in the world, ‘healing’ 10,000 ordinary people or killing one psychopath? As it happens, this question was necessary to break me out of the limits of the Judeo-Christian mindset that puts service above pleasure. In opening up to the exploration of killing magic, the flip-side to healing magic, my desire to learn how this power works– what set me on this path in the first place – was rekindled and put into a better perspective.

Since 2015, I’ve guided at least eight shamanic realignment sessions, with varying degrees of success and no negative results. This is ‘serpent power’ by one description. I’m learning how to use it, for the pleasure of learning, and sharing what I’m learning for the pleasure of sharing. Any healing that might occur is a delightful proof of process for me, as well as a benefit to the individual concerned. The process falls under the umbrella of Gaian Alchemy and will developed further within that framework.

The Shamanic Realignment Session

I use the term Shamanic Realignment rather than the more common, Shamanic Healing, as these sessions are not limited to healing. (I also have an aversion to new age ‘shamanic journeying’ and all that goes with it.) However, it has been my experience so far that if there is something to be healed the life force, or kundalini, will naturally move to address this problem first. The body needs to be sufficiently stable before you begin to explore power sharing and you can’t force it. I’ve only moved into power sharing in the last two sessions.

Shamanic realignment sessions are guided in small groups, probably no more than four. The guide needs to be competent in working with psilocybin and with his/her own senses, so that he/she can describe what is happening in the session as it occurs. The other participants MUST give the human guide permission to guide them before the session starts, or else the natural faculty of free will intervene and the session will lose focus. A general intention for the session must be agreed by all participants ie healing, or learning, but individuals can focus on their own health issues. I think a short ‘mantra’, such as ‘heal my kidney infection’ is helpful, to bring the mind into focus when it wanders. In the earlier sessions I had here, I sensed the presence of either Vajrayogini or Vudasi almost immediately, and now I invoke one of them from the outset. You literally invite the Aeonic Mother into your body.

With practice, the guide will be able to narrate what is happening, as it is happening, which helps to keep the other participants focused. For example: She is at the root chakra now, it feels slightly uncomfortable, keep breathing, the pressure is increasing – there it popped and now She’s moving onto the next chakra….keep breathing etc. (It is important to keep reminding the other participants to breathe, as they often hold their breath!) There can be some discomfort, especially in problem areas, there will be changes in temperature (internal and external), there might be dull pain, pressure, butterflies, squirmy feelings, but it is never severe. The kundalini moves from the root chakra upwards and each chakra is passed/cleared with a jolt or a popping sensation – you can’t miss it! The guide will have in his/her body an awareness of what the others are experiencing, even if the other participants are having different experiences. There will usually be five or six ‘waves’ in a session, with a short rest in between and it will last two to three hours.

I use the term shamanic because the session is conducted outside of ordinary consciousness, in the symbiotic mind; the ‘inability’ to heal a disease or condition is an illusion generated by the xenosh and maintained by the social mind. We are designed to be self-healing and I’m absolutely confident in saying this, because I’ve witnessed it hundreds of times – and I’m confident that many of you will be able to witness it too. This does not mean that anyone can heal from anything at any time, as there are other factors involved. However, the objective is to reconnect with the symbiotic mind, which in turn facilitates the correct use of the imagination, so that the body can heal instantly if possible and the healing work can also continue back in ordinary consciousness. It helps you stop working against yourself.

Once the body is stable and able to hold the kundalini energy, it naturally wants to move outwards. And it requires a special kind of concentration to hold the kundalini in your body, while allowing it to expand at the same time. This is achieved by guiding participants to focus together on the same thing, either the fire or the crown of the tipi, for example – just to keep looking at the same thing without effort – concentration, not constipation. At the same time, to be aware of the sounds outside the tipi, especially the low hum, or purr of the Planetary Animal Mother. Sometimes it is helpful to synchronize breathing. Initially, this activity causes agitation outside, the dogs bark and get over-excited and keep running in and out. Holding concentration this way causes the temperature to drop and generates silence across the valley. I have the sense that this is extended protection, and with practice it can be called upon in ordinary consciousness.

Our sessions here are conducted in the tipi, which is perfect to contain the energy and to keep focus and concentration. I can’t imagine doing this in a city apartment.

Summary of Differences Between a Telestic Session and Shamanic Realignment

The main differences between Shamanic Realignment and the Telestic Method are as follows:

In the Telestic Method, the participants stretch outwards to the Plenary Sovereign Intelligence to address Her in ecstatic trance and seek answers to a question, or command Her in a specific task; in Shamanic Realignment, participants invite the PSI into their bodies, to correct a specific problem or to learn how to command Her power.

The Telestic Method is transpersonal in its aim; Shamanic Realignment is personal and more suitable for healing purposes etc..

The syntax for the Telestic Method must be pristine for it to work; in Shamanic Realignment an intention is necessary and the distillation of it emerges in pristine syntax AFTER the session.

The ‘dose’ used in the Telestic Method is around twice that as for a Shamanic Realignment.

The Telestic Method requires participants to stand upright and present their question/command on initial observation of the OL; in Shamanic Realignment, participants can sit or lie down, as physical comfort and relaxation is part of the process.

Telestic sessions must be conducted outside in nature; it’s better to hold a Shamanic Realignment session is an enclosed space, such as a tipi.